Leaving the noisy streets behind, the surroundings gradually grew quiet.
Sasuke walked expressionlessly on the road leading to the Uchiha Clan's compound, his mind racing, processing all the information he had gathered since his return.
Hiruzen's vagueness, and the Shinigami's power deep within his soul...
He was so immersed in his thoughts that he instinctively ignored the deliberately lightened footsteps following him.
After walking for who knows how long, the person behind him seemed to step on a stone, their footsteps suddenly becoming erratic.
Sasuke's steps halted abruptly.
He slowly turned around, his eyes scanning a low wall.
'A watcher? Someone sent by the Third Hokage?'
This thought flashed through his mind. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't make a sound.
Behind the wall, Naruto's heart was pounding in his throat.
He had been so focused on watching Sasuke's back that he completely forgot to watch his step.
Seeing Sasuke stop, he was so scared he immediately pulled his whole body back, pressing his back tightly against the cold wall.
"He didn't see me, right?" Naruto muttered softly.
He stayed put for a while. Feeling no movement outside, he cautiously peeked out half his head.
The street was empty. Sasuke's figure had already vanished.
"Huh? He left?"
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, a bit disappointed as he walked out from behind the wall, scratching his head, "What a weird guy..."
"Are you looking for me?"
A cold voice sounded abruptly right behind him.
Naruto's hair stood on end. He stiffly turned his head and came face to face with a pair of dark eyes.
Sasuke was standing behind him at some point. Even worse, the long sword that had just cut the broom was now steadily pressed against his neck.
"You..." Naruto was startled, but strangely, he didn't feel fear.
"Why are you following me?" Sasuke's tone was cold.
Most people would be completely flustered in this situation, but Naruto's brain circuit was clearly different from others.
He completely ignored the threat at his neck. His bright blue eyes shining with excitement, he exclaimed, "Hey! What was that just now?"
"How did that sword appear with a 'whoosh'? It's so cool! Can you teach me?!"
"..." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
Naruto seemed completely oblivious to his increasingly cold expression and continued questioning, "And also, why aren't you afraid of those adults? That owner was super mean! You actually dared to point a sword at him! So cool!"
"Where did you get your sword from?"
'So noisy...'
This was the only thought in Sasuke's mind.
'Why is this blond kid so so familiar?'
What's even more bizarre was, he didn't seem to feel any disgust towards him.
He flicked his wrist, and the Zanpakuto instantly returned to its sheath.
"Get lost."
He squeezed the words out through gritted teeth, then turned and used Shunpo without hesitation.
"Hey, don't go!"
Naruto only saw a blur before his eyes. Sasuke's figure had already appeared over ten meters away and was quickly moving further.
"Damn it, don't think you can run!"
Naruto suddenly got fired up. He spread his legs and started chasing with all his might.
What followed was a strange scene on the street.
A boy in black walked ahead at a leisurely pace, occasionally flashing and appearing further down the road.
Behind him, a blond brat was panting heavily but stuck to him like a piece of stubborn chewing gum, constantly shouting:
"Hey, wait for me! Why are you running so fast? Teach me!"
Sasuke's face darkened slightly. He didn't like this feeling.
It was like a blinding beam of sunlight insistently shining into the darkness he had long grown accustomed to.
It's really... irritating.
Finally, after another Shunpo, the noisy sound behind him completely disappeared.
Sasuke stopped and glanced back at the empty street. Confirming the blond brat wasn't following anymore, he withdrew his gaze.
Then, with a few more Shunpo, he completely vanished at the end of the street.
Elsewhere, Naruto was bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily. He stared in the direction where Sasuke had finally disappeared, a clear flash of disappointment in his eyes.
"Tch, so fast..." He muttered under his breath, plopping down onto the steps by the roadside.
Sasuke was so cool, so awesome, and he seemed different from everyone else.
He didn't look at him with disgust like the adults did. Even though he told him to get lost, Naruto could feel it was just impatience.
But in the end, he had shaken him off without hesitation.
"Does he hate me too, just like everyone else?" The moment this thought emerged, Naruto's chest felt tight.
He had finally met someone who was kind to him, but it still ended up like this.
He sat on the steps, head bowed, silent for a long time.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he jumped up from the step.
"Hmph! So what if you're great? One day, I'll become even stronger than you!"
He shook his fist at the air, then showed a determined smile, "Just you wait! I'm definitely going to do something great, make everyone in the village acknowledge me!"
He took one last look in the direction Sasuke had disappeared, then turned and ran towards another destination.
Meanwhile, Sasuke had returned to that familiar land.
The Uchiha Clan's compound.
The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the street were tightly shut. A deathly silence prevailed.
The air still carried a faint, lingering smell of blood, mixed with the stench of dust, making one nauseous.
He walked to the front of his family's mansion, looking at the police line tape and the long-dried dark red bloodstains on the door. Those dark eyes were once again filled with hatred.
"Father. Mother." His hand rested on the cold sword hilt.
"Itachi..."
He whispered the name, "I will definitely kill you."
On a distant tower, two Anbu wearing animal masks watched all of this.
"He returned to his clan's compound. His emotions seem stable, but something's off." One of them, codenamed 'Nightingale', said quietly.
"Mm, he's too calm." The other nodded, "This state is more dangerous than hysterical crying. Report the situation truthfully to the Hokage."
In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen listened to the Anbu's report and remained silent for a long time.
He had seen through the crystal ball how Sasuke shook off Naruto, and he knew Sasuke had ultimately returned alone to the Uchiha's ruins.
'A child who should have grown up under the sunlight was instead burdened with such heavy darkness so early.'
'And on the other hand, Naruto, who should have been the son of a hero, suffered baseless rejection within the village.'
'Why was it like this...'
Hiruzen placed his pipe on the desk. A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes, quickly replaced by resolve.
'It was all for Konoha.'
'And Danzo was right. We couldn't let Sasuke immerse himself in hatred alone. It was too dangerous.'
'Sasuke needed someone who could both guide him and suppress him, someone who also carried deep wounds.'
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance towards a silver-haired Anbu's member in the shadows.